It’s that time of year when the 7-mile-long Animas River Trail can get crowded – with people walking, pets, cyclists, strollers, roller-bladers and the like.
And, as in any crowded public places, conflicts arise.
The Durango Parks and Recreation Department will implement changes this summer that it hopes will improve trail safety as people get out and enjoy the “centerpiece” of the city’s trail system.
Parks and Recreation will add a center-line stripe in certain areas of the trail this summer to help keep order. The department identified blind corners with bad visibility, and plans to install caution signs to complement the stripes in those areas.
The underpass under U.S. Highway 160 is the only part of the trail that is striped. Durango City Council will host a study session on June 27 where the plans will be presented, and implementation will occur shortly afterwards, said Cathy Metz, director of Parks and Recreation.
Another issue that is frequently debated is the speed of cyclists on the trail. At a joint advisory board meeting May 15 between the Parks and Recreation and Natural Lands Preservation boards, there was discussion about creating a speed limit for cyclists. Ultimately, the groups decided to recommend a 10 mph speed.
Several citizens were concerned about cyclists and their interactions with pedestrians.
Alfredo Ontiveros, a frequent user of the Animas River Trail, is amazed at cyclists who ride fast and don’t give warning to pedestrians. He estimates that three-fifths of cyclists will give warning, either verbally or with a bell. “Bicycles need to be deliberate and more intentional about letting other folks that share the bike path know that they’re coming up behind them,” Ontiveros said.
Durango resident Steve Nakai said most people who use the trail have “good awareness,” but not always. “When you have groups of them going really fast, it’s stressful,” he said.
Citizens were also concerned about the homeless population that hangs around some city parks that the trail entwines. “It’s more the parks and the people that are occupying the parks that make us feel uncomfortable,” said resident Christi Brennan.
Resident Shea Dean said, “I haven’t had any problems but I do feel nervous at times.”
The Durango Police Department has not routinely patrolled the trail, instead responding to calls for service.
“From a police perspective, it’s very tough,” Durango Police Chief Kamran Afzal said. “Being homeless is not illegal, panhandling is not illegal, so you have to look for other behaviors that are attributed to a certain segment that they’re engaging in that makes people uncomfortable.”
“Our presence is not as strong as it needs to be,” Afzal said. He plans to change that starting June 18, when the Police Department will launch a Community Engagement Team. The unit will not respond to calls; it was created to deal with quality-of-life issues that have warranted a multitude of calls in the past.
“Anytime where we have issues over the next few years that requires us to respond to calls for service repeatedly, I want to make sure that I have staff available who are going to have the time to really look at the issue and understand it more deeply instead of handling it, and then going to the next call for service,” Afzal said.
The unit will police the Central Business District of Durango, which will include parts of the Animas River Trail.
It’s difficult to routinely police the trail because of the overall number of calls the department receives. Afzal estimates that a normal day shift will get between 65 and 75 calls, which means making tough decisions and prioritizing responses. For example, he’s more likely to send officers to investigate a motor vehicle theft or burglary than a speeding biker on the trail, he said.
“Our focus is on behavior that is out of norm,” Afzal said.
asemadeni@durangoherald.com
Poll: Will a center-line stripe and other measures improve safety on the Animas River Trail?
Yes - 597 - 43.9%
No - 763 - 56.1%
